And we’re off!

Almost ready…

Ski resorts have been starting their lifts and opening their doors for the 2013-14 winter season and this past weekend, it was time to crank things up here in Park City. It was just a few lifts and a few runs, but it was great to stretch out the ski legs a bit, to take a few runs and to see everyone out and having a great time.

More than anything, opening day is the culmination of many months of planning and effort by many different groups at each resort. From the ops teams who make the resorts function to the sales/marketing teams that got people to show up for the start of the season. As part of a marketing team, I really enjoy watching people on the first few days of the season to see if they’re enjoying their first turns as much as I am and to double-check who they are. I know that the majority of visitors the first few weeks are locals/passholders, but there seem to be more and more vacationers who come out the first weeks of the season. To me, the destination visitors are the ones to concentrate on, to see if they’re from the geographic areas that we’ve messaged and to see what messages are resonating with them.

These first bits of informal feedback usually serve to remind me that ski resorts are not just for the hard-core skiers and riders, in fact it’s the opposite, they’re really for all of us who enjoy getting outside on a cold winter day and spending time with friends, family or simply on their own sliding down a mountain covered in snow…and I for one, am very thankful that we’ve only just begun the 2013-14 winter season.